Sustainable development: The way for future, where are we?

In India around 700 million people in the rural area are directly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors (agriculture, forests, and fisheries) and natural resources (such as water, biodiversity, mangroves, coastal zones, grasslands) for their subsistence and livelihoods. Climate change and its effects will further reduce the adaptive capacity of dry land farmers, forest dwellers, fisherfolk, and nomadic shepherds, which is already very low. Water, soil, and air, which are the vital environmental sources for maintaining life have been shrinking alarmingly. Annual per capita availability of renewable freshwater has been decreasing from 5,277 m3 in 1955 to 1,820 m3 in 2001.The main reasons for the water crisis are increasing demand, zonal disparity in distribution, lack of ethical framework for use, inadequate knowledge and resources, major land-use changes, long-term water level decline, and increase in salinity and pollution.